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Writing Business Letters, Proposals, Reports - Omit Needless Words Says Online Writing Course Coach

February 16, 2008 | Author: admin | Filed under: Careers


William Strunk wrote a short, valuable essay on the need to omit needless words:

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

Here are some examples of wordy and redundant phrases, and ways to shorten them, so that your business writing becomes tighter and clearer.

Don’t say: call your attention to the fact that
Say: remind you

Don’t say: an example of this is the fact that
Say: for example

Don’t say: afford an opportunity
Say: allow

Don’t say: due to the fact that
Say: because

Don’t say: exhibit a tendency to
Say: tend to

Don’t say: for the purpose of
Say: for, to

Don’t say: in reference to
Say: about, regarding

Don’t say: in view of the fact that
Say: because

Don’t say: in the normal course of our procedure
Say: normally

Don’t say: in the majority of circumstances
Say: normally

Eliminate redundancies as well. Unnecessary modifiers slow your readers and muddy your writing.

Don’t say: at this point in time
Say: now

Don’t say: one a.m. in the morning
Say: one a.m.

Don’t say: consensus of opinion
Say: consensus

Don’t say: may possibly
Say: may

Don’t say: mutual cooperation
Say: cooperation

Don’t say: end result
Say: result

Don’t say: plan in advance
Say: plan

Don’t say: final conclusion
Say: conclusion

Don’t say: refer back to
Say: refer to

Don’t say: reason why
Say: reason that

Don’t say: reason why is because
Say: reason is that

Don’t say: resume again
Say: resume

Don’t say: continue on
Say: continue

Don’t say: the month of December
Say: December

Don’t say: first originated
Say: originated

Don’t say: my personal opinion
Say: my opinion

Don’t say: enclosed herewith
Say: enclosed

Don’t say: attached hereto
Say: attached

About the author
Alan Sharpe, executive speech coach and business writing trainer, is author of Speak Like a Leader: 101 Tips for Mastering Your Public Speaking Skills. On-site, online and over the phone, Alan teaches executives and managers how to express themselves clearly, concisely and convincingly using the written and spoken word. Receive a free tip like this each week by subscribing to his public speaking and business writing column, The Confident Communicator.

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